Cabinet catch



Feb. 22, 1955 e. e. GREENE, JR 2,702,719

CABINET CATCH Filed July 15, 1952 1N VEN TOR 5167212 fear efiaezgvz ATTORNEYS United States Patent CABINET CATCH Glenn George Greene, Jr., Warren, Pa.

Application July 15, 1952, Serial No. 298,985

2 Claims. (Cl. 292-16) The present invention relates to improvements in door catches, and more especially to cabinet catches, and a primary object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved catch of this type which is sturdy and durable in construction, may be readily mounted on a door and door frame, and will yieldingly retain the door in its closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet catch of novel and improved construction which occupies a minute amount of space, and may be so mounted on the door and door frame that it will be concealed or invisible from the front or exterior of the cabinet while the door is closed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a catch of this type which will operate effectively, and will accommodate itself automatically to variations in the mounting of the door on its hinges, or sagging of the door.

A further object of the invention is to provide a catch of this type which can be manufactured inexpensively from parts which may be punched from sheet metal and formed into appropriate shape by dies, and the parts of which may readily be assembled to form the complete catch ready for mounting on a door or the like.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein- Figure l is an inside view in elevation of a cabinet door and door frame provided with a catch constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 22 in Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 33 in Fig. 1. 1 Fi Eure 4 is a detail section, taken on the line 4-4 in Figure 5 is a perspective view of parts of the catch.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the different views.

In the drawing, A represents the door of a cabinet which is mounted on hinges B to swing to and from closed position in an opening in a door frame C, the door being shown in closed position in Fig. l. A knob D may be secured to the outer side or front of the door to facilitate opening and closing thereof.

The catch provided by the present invention comprises a keeper fixed to the inner side of the door frame, and a catch member fixed to the inner side of the door and cooperative with the keeper when the door is closed to yieldingly retain the door in closed position. The catch member comprises preferably a base plate provided with apertures 11 adjacent its ends to receive screws 12 for securing the catch member to the inner side of the door, and having a pair of flanges 13 bent at a right angle to the body of the base plate, these flanges being alined in a common plane and spaced apart to form a gap 14 between them, and a casing 15 which houses the operative parts of the catch. The casing 15 is preferably punched from a sheet of metal and bent along one edge to form a wall 16, and a portion 17 at a right angle thereto, the ends of the portion 17 being bent in parallelism as indicated at 18, and the extremities of these portions being bent at a right angle to form a pair of lugs 19 which lie in a common plane. The casing, including the lugs 19, is coextensive in length to that of the base plate 10, and the lugs 19 are provided with apertures 20 which are positioned to register with the apertures 11 in the base plate when the casing is applied to the base plate to receive the screws 12 which, when 2,702,719 Patented Feb. 22, 1955 applied and tightened, will firmly secure the base plate and easing as a unit to the inside of the door.

The casing 15 is open at one side, and when applied to the base plate, the flanges 13 thereon will occupy positions in such opening, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. These flanges 13 carry members which cooperate with the keeper to yieldingly retain the door in closed position. These retaining members 21 each comprise a strip of metal which is folded upon itself to fit over the respective flange 13 and to slide freely thereon, and a pin 22 which is riveted in one side of the folded strip substantially midway of its transverse width and extends through an aperture in the other side of the strip, and each of the flanges 13 of the base plate is provided with a slot 23 through which the respective pin extends and in which it is movable longitudinally. When the folded retaining members 21 are placed over the respective flanges and the pins 22 are inserted and secured, the retaining mem 'bers 21 as retained on the flanges 13 but are movable thereon toward and from one another. A tension spring, preferably of the coil type 24, is connected at its ends to the pins 22 and acts to yieldingly press the members 21 toward one another. The inner ends of the slots 23 are preferably so positioned that they will be engaged by the respective pins when the adjacent ends of the members 21 are nearly in contact with one another, and will ensure correct positioning of each of the members 21 for engagement by the keeper.

The adjacent ends of the members 21 are appropriately shaped to receive and yieldingly hold the keeper. The keeper, in the present instance, comprises a pin which is preferably round in cross section as shown at 25 in Fig. 2, this keeper pin being riveted or otherwise secured to a flange 26 on a plate 27 which may be secured as by screws 28 to the inner side of the door frame. The adjacent ends of the members 21 are formed with complemental bevelled or convergently curved porti Qns 29 which ride on the pin 25 as the door approaches its closed position, whereby the members 21 are forced apart to admit the pin, and the inner ends of the members 21 are formed with complemental recesses 30 beyond the bevelled or curved portions 29 into which the pin 25 will seat when the door is in itsfully closed position, these recesses then acting on the pin 25 to yieldingdy retain the door in closed position under the action of the spring 24 which presses the members 21 against the opposite sides of the pin 25. The portions of the recesses 30 ad jacent to the bevelled or curved portions 29, however, are sufliciently divergent to permit the members 21 to spread apart and thereby become disengaged from the pin 25 when suflicient force is applied to the door to open it, the spring 24 yielding to permit such spreading apart of the members 21. It will be understood that the gap 14 between the flanges 13 on the base plate receives the pin 25 when the door is closed, and the portion 17 of the casing is provided with a notch 17a for the passage of the pin.

The inner ends of the slots 23 are so positioned that they will be engaged by the pins 22 and thereby limit the movement of the members 21 toward one another and thus position these members to engage the pin 25 when the door is closed, and neither of the members 21 can move beyond such a pin engaging position, so that closing of the door will not be obstructed by either of these members. If the catch and the door hinges are not positioned in exactly correct relationship or the door sags, such will be compensated for within reasonable limits by the catch because at least one of the catch members 21 will engage the pin 25 and will yield to a sufficient extent to receive the pin, and will retain the door in closed position under the action of the spring 24.

I claim:

1. A door catch comprising a keeper and a cooperative catch member, the keeper having a pin fixed thereto and the catch member comprising a base plate having a pair of flanges projecting angularly therefrom and in alinement, each of said flanges having a slot therein which is alined with the slot in the other flange, a pair of opposed and alined retaining members mounted on the respective flanges to slide toward and from one another and adapted to receive the keeper pin between their proximate ends, a pin fixed to each of the retaining members substantially midway of its transverse width and extending through and movable in the slot of the respective flange and limiting the movement of the retaining members toward one another, and a single spring connecting said limiting pins and acting on the retaining members to move them toward one another for retaining engagement with the keeper pin.

2. A door catch comprising a keeper and a cooperative catch member, the keeper having a pin fixed thereto and the catch member comprising a base plate having a pair of flanges projecting angularly therefrom and in alincment, each of said flanges having a slot therein which is alined with the slot of the other flange, a pair of opposed and alined retaining members each folded over the respective flange, the retaining members being slidable toward and from one another on the respective flanges, a spring acting on the retainer members to move them toward one another, and a pin fixed to one wall of each folded retaining member and extending through the slot in the respective flange and through the other wall of the respective folded retaining member and limiting the movement of the retaining members toward one another.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,348,108 Harden July 27, 1920 1,691,724 Kruschka Nov, 13, 1928 1,984,842 Rose Dec. 18, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS 419,365 Great Britain Nov. 12, 1934 

